


a pocket full of posies;

by Starsight (crownhearted)



Series: The Prime Executioner [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Royalty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-08-06
Packaged: 2018-07-29 16:48:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7692133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crownhearted/pseuds/Starsight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lullabies are best sung at night, when the world is dark and still; but what lullabies exist in a world without the sun?</p>
            </blockquote>





	a pocket full of posies;

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mellifluousness](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mellifluousness/gifts).



The sound of snow beneath their boots makes an unmistakable crunching sound. It's rhythmic and satisfying, every crackle and pop of ice impacted by the slam of the rubber soles. It's violence against nature, unavoidable and unthinking. It's a good thing that snow has no sentience here. 

Still, they're thinking about it.

That's what Chara has done to them. They know it's been four weeks since their fall into the Underground only because the monthly address had passed and Frisk had been looking at a calendar. It had been four weeks of living, sleeping, eating, trying. They still didn't really leave New Home very often, even if everyone had given them permission to; everyone except Chara, that is. Frankly, Frisk did agree; it was best that monsters did not get to know them for as long as possible.

Asriel was very upset about this decision, but didn't force Frisk to leave. Frisk did feel claustrophobic, trapped like a caged animal in New Home sometimes. They had decided around week three to start taking evening walks. Chara did not follow them, for once- perhaps because they were asleep. Frisk had it timed well. Sure, the following day was hell, being woken up at a reasonable time with only four hours of sleep under their heavy eyelids, but it was so worth it.

The world was silent, and wide, and deep. Snowdin Forest was their favorite place to be in these late, late evenings into early mornings. The darkness was comforting, the softness of ambient sounds just hushed enough to be soothing. They loved the textures of the world, the brittle bark of every towering tree and the smooth stones they collected only to drop into new spots on the paths they walked. They thought of everything, and nothing, but mostly they liked to pretend they would find happiness here if they were permitted to live among monsters like this until a natural death took them. They thought of monsters peeking out from behind the trunks of the cylindrical, lofty palaces cultivated by nature alone. They thought of echoing laughter and assorted sounds that would come from the eclectic citizens of the Underground.

They crossed into Snowdin Town, and looked at the door of the shop they'd never see inside of. They imagined the warmth of a wooden shelter against the eternal snow padding the ground and the structures.  They could practically hear the ringing of the cash register inside, and the sound the drawer would make when it slammed shut filled with G. They brushed their fingers over the large, oval glass that decorated the door, and then turned their gaze on the next building.

Snowdin Inn was a fantasy land to Frisk. They placed their hand against one of the four windows and the coolness of the pane and touched their forehead to it as their eyes shut. They had strained to see inside before, to no avail. They simply dreamed of what it would be like to step inside such a cozy retreat. The scent of pine and lemon-tinged cleaning solution, the comforting creaking of the stairs they could ascend to reach their temporary lodging. They smiled to think of the soft quilt on the bed and the plush carpeting, accented with a rug, perhaps a little nightstand and a coffee table. They fondly regarded their imaginary residents, the ones on either side of them, who would greet them with charming smiles and quirky sayings when they woke up and exited for the day ahead.

They let out a puff of warm breath that made a fog against the window as they pushed off of it, pocketing their cold hands and wandering forward again. There was just so much to see here- and they were coming to one of their absolute favorite spots in the whole of the Underground.

They smiled even before they fully stopped in front of the decorated, string-lit tree. The lovingly-wrapped gifts lay underneath, undisturbed and in no danger of being stolen by any treacherous beings in the sleeping hours. They simply stood back and gazed at the gorgeous sight. A soft, sleeping town, with soft, sleeping citizens, and soft, sleeping snow. Nothing had ever brought them so much  _peace_ before-

**Crunch.**

Their whole upper body tensed and their breath caught in their throat. They had not moved a muscle, too transfixed by the pretty decoration in Snowdin Town, the only pulsing light in this dark place when the residents were all lights-out and dreaming. The sound was too heavy, too unmistakable; the weight was of death.

" **What** do you think you are  **doing** out here."

it's not a question. Chara is not asking them, they are simply furious, and Frisk can feel it in every muscle. This was probably one of their worst nightmares; Frisk out and about where they might hurt a monster. Better yet, Frisk out of their sight and dying before anyone could capture their SOUL.

"Taking a walk." They answer calmly, simply, as though their insides aren't churning.

"I told you. **Stay** in New Home."

"I wanted to take a walk, and you were sleeping, so I couldn't ask you to accompany me. Were you feeling left out?"

Before the syllable can end, Chara is upon them and there is a hand grasping at their throat from behind. They feel air become scarce. The grip tightens with agonizingly slow intensity.

"You. Are going. **Back**."

Frisk does not fight it. They wait until Chara has squeezed them of all breath, and then they are let go, and they are gasping despite themself. Dizzy, they slowly continue forward, taking one last look at all that surrounds them as they return back to New Home. They know they will never see Snowdin again. They will probably never leave New Home again.

They try to take mental pictures of the world as they go. 

  
It's difficult to do, with _twice_ the violent, angry crunching noises of ice and a chance at fleeting happiness crunching beneath boots that carry the weight of death.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah so I realize that if Frisk is walking from New Home to Snowdin Forest that they do HAVE to pass through Snowdin Town FIRST so this fic implies that they passed through the town, got to the forest, and turned around again- but you know what. Eat my shorts.


End file.
